Prior art workers have devised numerous types of product orienting devices and methods. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,707,547; 3,109,530; 3,297,134 and 3,576,249 are exemplary only of such devices and methods. In each of these instances, however, orientation is achieved by means of a specific feature of the product being oriented, with pins provided on the product, a flat formed on the product, or a peripheral seam of the product.
The use of pallets or pucks of various shapes for conveying discrete products has been in practice for some time. The use of such pucks increases product design flexibility, since the product design need not be limited by good conveying characteristics. The use of pucks enables the conveying of products which are odd shaped (i.e. non-cylindrical, assymmetrical, provided with a handle, etc), fragile, or which lack stability (i.e. are subject to toppling). The use of pucks in conjunction with such products eliminates shingling (vertical or horizontal overlapping of products), squirting (vertical displacement due to product-to-product contact), denting, breakage and jams during the conveying procedure. The use of pucks also permits wider flexibility of product material or strength. This is because the pucks prevent product-to-product contact, and thereby limit damage due to impact, scuffing, and line pressure.
Quicker size changeovers are possible when machines and conveyors are set to a common size puck upon which several different size products can be carried. Another advantage of adapting machines to the use of pucks is that product dimensional tolerances can be relaxed without reducing the product's ability to go through a processing line without additional problems due to shape or dimensional variations from product-to-product.
In prior art product processing lines of the type wherein one or more of the operations require specific orientation of the product, it is common practice to obtain the desired product orientation early in the line and to maintain it throughout the line, even through those operations which do not require a specific orientation. Where pucks are used in such a line, it is the usual practice to employ non-round pucks to assist in maintaining a specific orientation. When on-line orientation of products is not needed (such as may be the case for symmetrical products that are predecorated) and when pucks are used for other reasons, such as protection for a fragile product or for purposes of product stability, it is preferable to use round pucks. Round pucks having circumferential surfaces with low coefficients of friction offer the free flowing characteristics of stable, round products (such as beverage cans or the like).
Prior art workers, dealing with round, stable products not requiring orientation have devised network style lines. Network style lines are those which have more than one machine in parallel per operation, wherein the products can flow from a random surge or accummulating conveyor through any of the parallel machines. The products flow from a random accummulation thereof through any of the machines or stations which are operating, and at the rate demanded by that particular machine or station. Random product surging or accumulation not only provides means for feeding products to several machines or stations from the same source, but also provides the capabilty for large, space efficient, accummulation of products between operations to keep the system running when individual machines or stations are down.
Machines in a network style line are independent of the speed of machines in other operations and are independent of the speed of other machines in the same operation. Thus, each machine can run at its optimum speed for highest efficiency. In operations which tend to be of lower efficiency, or which require considerable down time for maintenance, redundant or spare machines can be operated in parallel to maintain the desired thruput. Furthermore, size changes can be made in some machines while others are still running product, in order to minimize line downtime. Capital investment is optimized in network style lines because the number of machines needed for any operation is a function of the machine speed divided into the desired line thruput. For serial lines, one machine is needed for each operation, regardless of its speed potential. The serial line thruput is a function of the slowest machine or station in the line. The network line system permits alternative machine speed control strategies because parallel paths enable bypassing of bottlenecks in the line.
Round pucks can, of course, be used in a network style line to provide roundness, stability and protection for non-round products. However, networking, by its very definition, loses specific orientation (that is, rotational position about a vertical axis or an axis perpendicular to the conveyor surface) and therefore has not hitherto been deemed suitable for lines wherein one or more of the operations requires specific orientation of the product.
The practice of the present invention provides simple, reliable, round puck orientation wherever it is needed for a particular machine or operation in a line. Product orientation need no longer be achieved early in the line and then maintained throughout the line.
The puck orienting means and method allow products to have orientation controlled in either of two positions. This provides flexibility in line layout. For example, a label can be applied to one side of a product and then the puck and product can be rotated 180.degree. for a label to be applied to the other side, all from the same side of the line. The practice of the present invention also permits handled bottles or the like to be turned to the desired orientation for case packing. This assumes that all handles were oriented in the proper direction when the bottles were placed on the pucks, which were also commonly oriented
The practice of the present invention enables the use of round pucks in a network style line even when certain operations or machines of the line require specific product orientation. Through the practice of the present invention, the products can be specifically oriented; the orientation can be lost on the network system accummulating conveyors; and the desired orientation can be regained at those unit operations requiring it. All of this can result in higher machine speeds and higher conveying speeds and/or lower investment cost and thus greater productivity.